Sunday Ride Out - Ride Report includes some off road
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 6:56 pm
The Sunday off road ride was supposed to be a day of two halves. The morning riding out to a remote and isolated crofting community not normally accessible to vehicles and the afternoon crossing two major Scottish estates along 20+miles off stalkers tracks.
The morning ride was cancelled as the track is very exposed basically cutting along a cliff for 6 miles and given the windy weather and forecast of gusts to 50 mph I took the prudent decision to cancel as of Saturday morning. I did however go for a recce to checkout how exposed it actually was and to check the status of the track. Good job I did; the first mile was fine, good quality easy riding single track until the first big stream to cut into the cliff. The track cut steeply down to the stream where it had been setted with big stones but with some big steps for walkers. I rode down one section but the second was even steeper and as I was on my own decided to turn round. This was when I realised how steep the cliff fell away from the track. One slip of the feet or the wheels and it was about 100 feet of almost vertical rocky cliff to the sea. I eventually spun the bike round on the side stand together with a bit of manhandling. No pics I am afraid. This is not a track to be undertaken lightly. The morning ride was definitely cancelled.
That meant the Sunday ride was now a much shorter affair. I had permission to take around 12 riders over two major scottish estates using their estate roads and stalkers tracks to link up 2 public roads about 20 miles apart. I had been trying to get permission from other estates to make more of a circular ride but permission wasnt granted. Maybe next year.
Its impossible to describe how simply stunning the scenery was, how good the tracks were, how remote it was, and how lucky we were to be allowed to ride where we did. Thise that disnt come and who could have missed out on a fabulous rideout.
Pictures paint a thousand words and here's a few courtesy of SteveT.....
The morning ride was cancelled as the track is very exposed basically cutting along a cliff for 6 miles and given the windy weather and forecast of gusts to 50 mph I took the prudent decision to cancel as of Saturday morning. I did however go for a recce to checkout how exposed it actually was and to check the status of the track. Good job I did; the first mile was fine, good quality easy riding single track until the first big stream to cut into the cliff. The track cut steeply down to the stream where it had been setted with big stones but with some big steps for walkers. I rode down one section but the second was even steeper and as I was on my own decided to turn round. This was when I realised how steep the cliff fell away from the track. One slip of the feet or the wheels and it was about 100 feet of almost vertical rocky cliff to the sea. I eventually spun the bike round on the side stand together with a bit of manhandling. No pics I am afraid. This is not a track to be undertaken lightly. The morning ride was definitely cancelled.
That meant the Sunday ride was now a much shorter affair. I had permission to take around 12 riders over two major scottish estates using their estate roads and stalkers tracks to link up 2 public roads about 20 miles apart. I had been trying to get permission from other estates to make more of a circular ride but permission wasnt granted. Maybe next year.
Its impossible to describe how simply stunning the scenery was, how good the tracks were, how remote it was, and how lucky we were to be allowed to ride where we did. Thise that disnt come and who could have missed out on a fabulous rideout.
Pictures paint a thousand words and here's a few courtesy of SteveT.....
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